Yussur Abrar and Thuli Madonsela: Africa's female whistleblowers

However, Abrar's corporate culture, professional perspective and patriotic goals seemed so alien to President Mahmoud and his underlings who were trained in the NGOs culture of trickle-down economy, albeit in African context, to which the late eminent American economist John Kenneth Galbraith had explained as an approach that emerged during the depression and was also called "the horse- and-sparrow theory" which meant: "If you feed the horse enough oats, some will pass through to the road for the sparrows." And this is exactly the culture and mentality of the African politicians and particularly the Somali political elite who practice the principle of "me first, crumbs for the rest."

Strangely enough, even those western educated Diaspora returnees who serve for the President as ministers and advisors fall into this category. Writing to me from New York, a friend of mine Dr. Nimo Bokore, had correctly put this in perspective: "Lately," she said, "I began to worry about the current scramble for Somali blood money. Will the elite, the well educated Diaspora men and their counterparts going back to politics to pay off their mortgages lead us to nationhood? Or they are just engaged in their own temporary gain 'Geel Dhac'?"

It is indeed this Geel Dhac "looting camels" culture of the Somali political elite that clashed with Abrar's financial ethics that she learned in the upper echelons of grand institutions.

This was not lost on Abrar as she so clearly expressed in her carefully written letter that she was not worried about the threats she received more than she was worried and frustrated by the President's lack of support: "I am the least concerned about the security threat, but I am truly disappointed that I have not received your support and leadership on this matter so that I could objectively perform my duties."

EXPOSING BUSINESS OF POVERTY

Since Abrar's resignation, the Somali people and indeed the international community have yet to hear a plausible explanation from President Mahmoud's government on the damaging information that came in Abrar's resignation letter other than pitiful denials that carry no facts to clear their position.

After many missed opportunities which led Somalia to become a dangerous place for world trade and security, the international community decided to give President Mahmoud and his government a chance regardless of the corrupt and illegitimate way that he had come to power. With his baby face, ever-present smile, and soft-spoken style, President Mahmoud has won a certain degree of trust. And due to our strong longing for a functioning and recognized Somali government, we all ignored the early voices such as that of the satirical Somali poet and academician Mahmoud Togane, who warned us against the wolf hiding in Mahmoud's sheep's clothing in an interview he gave a short time after Mahmoud's election. We also understandably dismissed the sharp criticisms that Professors, Samatar and Glaydh, leveled against Mahmoud, due to their known political inclinations.

But thankfully it took an honest woman like Abrar with no political ambitions of her own to expose that the president's pose was not more than a façade aimed at buying trust.

Whether the international community heeds Abrar's wakeup call is yet to be seen. But it is reassuring to know that Abrar's resignation had already rattled the donors' trust. Reuters quoted one senior European diplomat saying: "What [Abrar's resignation] has done is woken up a lot of people," said one senior European diplomat. "The notion that there is a blank check for Somalia, that's over. There's got to be results for money."

Well said, but the Somali people need more than rhetoric and the best thing that could result from this fiasco is to deposit international aid to Somalia in an escrow account and to appoint Abrar or a person of her caliber as a financial czar to oversee the fair distribution of donor funds for the development of the Somali people.

However, if the track record of the relations between donor nations and corrupt African leaders could be taken as an indication, President Mahmoud's administration would receive no more than a friendly censure for its behavior. And this explains why the government doesn't look shaken by what would have been a damaging incident to any decent administration.

Nevertheless, Abrar should have no regrets even if donor nations decide to continue dealing with Mogadishu government. It will only show once more how much the international community works hand in glove with corrupt African leaders in entrenching "the horse- and-sparrow theory". No wonder that it is often said poverty is big business.